Ouya game sales figures released: It doesn’t look good for Android console gaming

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It’s been one month since the Ouya hit retail shelves, made available to the public for just $99. The Kickstarter campaign was a wild success, but the console and games have been met with an almost universal underwhelmed response. Sales figures of games have been revealed, and we can now get a much better sense of how well the Ouya is faring, and if the open Android gaming console model works.

We’ve made our feelings regarding the new wave of open, Android gaming consoles known. In short, the platform is about potential, and not really about must-have titles at the moment — mainly because it doesn’t quite have any just yet. Recently, Ouya seemed to come to this realization, and started a campaign to help fund Kickstarter games so long as they started off life as an Ouya exclusive for at least six months. Ouya game sales have recently been disclosed from various outlets and reveal that Ouya games don’t sell very much.

Ouya’s premiere (timed) exclusive TowerFall — a local four-player ranged weapons match in the vein of Smash Bros. — is fun enough to be considered the platform’s killer app. Not only do killer apps sell well on their own, but they practically sell the console. TowerFall, it has been revealed, could barely sell itself, much less the console. The game currently offers a free demo, as is the Ouya policy, and costs $15 to unlock the full version. If something is fun, then a reasonable price isn’t really much of a concern. However, after having enjoyed the game for a half hour, for instance, I felt $15 was simply too much for the simple title, and didn’t purchase it. I then learned that the game is just a six-month exclusive, and there are rumblings that the developer would bring the game to other platforms — and with more features — after that exclusivity window, and decided I might purchase it then. Perhaps other gamers felt the same way, because TowerFall has only sold round 2,000 copies so far. At $15 each, that’s $30,000; Ouya’s cut makes the revenue around $21,000. Not bad for a one-man developer that made a game for a new, crowdfunded, non-mainstream console. Selling 2,000 copies on a mainstream console, though, would be considered an enormous failure.

Ouya has not released how many consoles have sold at retail, but have said on numerous occasions that they have sold out. From the Kickstarter campaign, though, we can see that a little over 58,000 consoles were ordered. From just the Kickstarter campaign, only 3.4% of the Ouya audience bought TowerFall, the console’s killer app. If the console sold as well at retail as Ouya claims, then that very tiny percent is much smaller. Nimble Quest, a freemium RPG take on the classic game Snake, has been downloaded a little over 6,500 times, but has only managed 122 in-game purchases, generating $427 in net profit. Organ Trail, the humorously morbid take on The Oregon Trail, has been downloaded 13,112 times, but has only made 501 sales. Hidden in Plain Sight, a cross between SpyParty andthe multiplayer in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, employed a Humble Indie Bundle style pay-what-you-want system and made around $4,300 on 1,900 purchases.

Most of us likely haven’t sold 1,900 or even 122 of anything we’ve ever made, so these numbers are certainly respectable. Unfortunately, though, respect alone doesn’t sell a console or put food on the tables of developers. So far, it would seem that exclusively developing for Ouya isn’t an enticing endeavor. Luckily for developers, Ouya seems to be fine with timed exclusives, so if a game doesn’t do well on the Kickstarted console, the potential of monetary salvation is just over the horizon. With Ouya helping to fund Kickstarter games, that should only help the console’s game developers.

For now, it seems like porting to the Ouya is the way to go — and only if the game is already controller-friendly or making it controller-friendly would be easy enough, and only if you’re an indie that could use some cash in the low thousands. A huge developer that is already prolific on mobile platforms, like Square Enix for example, may not really see the point of porting to the Ouya to only make a few thousand bucks.

So, it would seem that the Ouya model works for its popular titles, in that a game can break even or make a little bit of money, but developers likely won’t be too thrilled when their game only brings in $427 in profit. Hopefully, Ouya’s new funding campaign will be the proverbial milkshake that brings new gamers to its open, Android gaming yard.

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some_guy_said

I think you’re judging a bit early, and obviously, most people had expectations that were much higher than they should have been. It looks like the Ouya is actually modestly successful, which is nice for this kind of startup.

But yeah, I would still be surprised if the ouya got out of niche status.

Phobos

Seriously who pays for console that plays smartphone games?

t1oracle

Smartphone games don’t use a controller and a TV.

Scott Jackson

You can hook up a controller and TV to most smartphones

t1oracle

You can, but only geeks bother to do that. That is why *games* made for cell phones are never optimized for TVs and controllers. On the other hand, all Ouya games are optimized for the Ouya controller and a TV. That optimization makes all of the difference in the user experience.

tesseracht

Only geeks backed the Ouya Kickstarter.

t1oracle

This isn’t a discussion about backing a Kickstarter. Try to stay on topic.

ZepFan

only pathetic teenage boys with no friends get their kicks trolling video game sites.

Scott Jackson

Yea but only Ouya “exclusive” games. The rest of the android library is not optimized for a controller and TV.

t1oracle

“Exclusive” is the wrong word. Regardless native Ouya games are the whole point of the Ouya. Ported Android games is just the icing on the cake.

Scott Jackson

Ok “exclusive” for 6 months. And I don’t know that android developers are going to take the time to “port” their android games to Ouya to better work with a controller and big screen, especially if adoption continues to be this slow.

t1oracle

People are already making original Ouya games. The photo in this article shows a number of them. Ouya doesn’t have to wait for Android developers, there are plenty already making Ouya games now. Adoption is only slow because this is the beginning, it hasn’t even been out for a year yet.

Scott Jackson

Yes developers are making Ouya exclusives, but that pales in comparison to the large number of android games already available. Ouya exclusives will never be anywhere near that number because the market is much smaller. If developers are willing to port their current android games to Ouya then that will expand the library immensely, and make Ouya much more attractive.

t1oracle

It doesn’t matter how many games Android has. Android is not a competitor. People buying the Ouya are looking for the TV and controller experience. People buying Android games are happy with touch screen controls. Those are separate markets.

Scott Jackson

Yes of course Android isn’t a competitor, it’s an Android console after all. Android is an ally and if they can tap into the hundreds of games already available that would give them a huge advantage against their competitors. They don’t have to be separate markets. As the article states, it’s going to need lots of ports to get this console to survive because exclusively developing for Ouya isn’t looking too lucrative right now.

t1oracle

For most indie developers, the Ouya is the only console they have a chance with. If they want it to be lucrative, they are going to have to make a good game and get the word out. Ouya needs to advertise more as well, but ultimately it’s marketing that’s going to determine its success. Certainly high quality ports will help, but any high quality games they can get will help.

I’m actually working on my own Ouya game although it will be my first commercial game and I don’t know how it will turn out yet.

Scott Jackson

That’s cool, good luck!

frawe

But the “game” still sucks.

Phobos

so you need a controller and tv to play smartphone games? hey its your money and all but its pointless.

t1oracle

Who taught you how to read? You just wrote the opposite of what was stated.

wop

Smartphone “games” arent games.

ZepFan

no one, that’s why Gamestick and Gamepop will fail; Ouya, on the other hand does a lot more than smartphone games but you already knew that didn’t you?

Phobos

by all means list them.

frawe

“Ouya, on the other hand does a lot more than smartphone games”…Out of genuine ignorance, and mild curiosity….like what?

t1oracle

Work effortlessly on a TV with a wireless controller.

http://www.MyTabletLife.com Chris Garcia

Except thats not what OUYA is.. Just because it uses Android, doesn’t make them SMARTPHONE games. New development is happening.. Games that don’t exist, and are exclusive to OUYA. Plus most “smartphone” games are NOT optimized to work on HDTV’s and with a controller. so. there is that.

Luis E.

If you want true console gaming go to the Xbox or PS, if you want casual gaming use your smartphone….this “open source Android” thing is neither and has no true value!!

t1oracle

The Ouya costs way less than an Xbox or PS, it’s games are cheaper too, and development of Ouya games is open to all developers granting indie developers unhindered access to the console market. Your cell phone is not a console so it does not compare.

Sure, you could hook a cell phone up to a TV and hack it so it uses a PS3 controller, but the games won’t be built for that. Furthermore, when you get a call and your TV rings not only will that interrupt or even end your game, but then you have to unplug it from the TV to use as a phone. It’s not convenient at all in practice.

GatzLoc

heard of miracast or wifidirect noob?

Also, you can put that 99 towards a used smartphone and pirate the android apps.

+1 pc gaming master race

-1mil everything else.

(just trolling, btw. nothing personal).

Bob Dobbs

I think the fact that it uses a nearly 2 year old Tegra 3 is a big problem…

Guest

I figure they’ll go for a second round of funding for a next-gen Ouya next year that will use a Tegra 5 chipset. Ever since that leak of the chip with CUDA cores were shown running Battlefield 3, a lot of people have been getting all hot and bothered over it.

Also, don’t forget that AMD isn’t competing in the smartphone chip market while Tegra is still fighting for that market share. I don’t doubt that Temash’s successor will be baller though.

swordcrossrocket

Doesn’t really matter what the specs are, it matters how much the devs can hope to make. No one is going to shoot for xbox 360 graphics on something which can’t even crack 20k copies or can’t price about fifteen bucks. Might as well just go to the 360 itself for that.

ZepFan

One basic rule of business is that new businesses shouldn’t expect to make a profit until their product has been out for at least a year; it’s about 11 months too early to claim the sky if falling.

t1oracle

Exactly! Someone gets it.

t1oracle

Exactly! Someone gets it.

sketchbag

i would prefer to not say i’m judging early. i get the point. indy. but indie doesnt mean no gameplay either. no point in a tegra3 if your goal is nes graphics either. nes games ruled…some of them. gameplay still makes me whip out some of my nes, or genesis games, but its not 1986 either. you can atleast whomp up some polish and shine of a ps1. if games dont get better? i’m going to literally flash mine with stock android and use xbmc exclusively. after months of shipping delays/re-tooling, still dont have my spare controller….but there arent (to my knowledge) any good games for multiplayer with controllers. 269 games released, i have looked at over 70. all shit. some look polished but have no gameplay, some might have gameplay, but i can load some emulators and get what i want. i skipped ps3 and x360 because games were getting too big. but there is a middle ground :) 10 million dollars on graphics and voice acting for a shitty game is worthless. but a game i wont play for free is no good either.

sketchbag

and more to the point working out percentages and profits from “games downloaded as demos” vs “then those demos paid for” doesnt say ouya itself is doomed. it says “make better games devs. pure and simple”

i already said some games look polished. but that game in particular is a port, and it runs a bit choppy, likely because it runs at 1080 and everything about it was designed for a way lower resolution on a similar chip, which is fine. That game just isnt my cup of tea, but i might purchase it if an update makes it run smoother. or i could make android force 720p instead of 1080 and give it a whirl, but that seems a bit crazy to go out of my way to pay for a game i dont really like by neutering the consoles resolution :)

http://www.MyTabletLife.com Chris Garcia

Tegra 3 is capable of Playstation 2, original Xbox graphics.. not SNES.. check your facts.. the benchmarks are out there. Hence why is can emulate PSOne and N64.. You always need about 2x the processing power or MORE to emulate..

sketchbag

I am aware of what its capable of. but huge swaths of the games that are out are atari, nes or at best snes graphics. NOT BECAUSE OF THE CHIP. because of the devs and lack of time/effort on art. how many ways do i need to say that before you “check your facts”

what are you talking about? of course emulation does. i am saying, this console, which can do graphics qualities of xbox or ps2, has games with terrible graphics. “NOT BECAUSE OF THE CHIP”, because of the game devs. i am not talking about emulation, other than emulating a SNES game often has better graphics than games you find in the ouya store, because the indie devs are putting no time into the graphics. how complicated is this to understand? tegra3 > 733mhz xbox cpu, by a good margin. but if you write games made of stick men and squares, it doesnt matter

http://www.MyTabletLife.com Chris Garcia

Sorry. I kinda forgot what the first part of what you wrote was talking about.. Because I only replied to the SNES comment. I think it has more to do with that the OUYA is Indie developer heavy at the moment. Indie games usually have that “retro” style. Though there are some games with decent graphics on OUYA. If some bigger developer names get involved, we should see them. I am surprised that more of the games from TegraZone have not made it over since Nvidia put some money up for the OUYA, I would figure they would try and push those developers to come to OUYA.. Especially since many of those games have controller support already.

sketchbag

yeah, my whole desire is for even indie devs to just polish the games a little. asteroids and missile command had replay value, but the graphics by todays standards are sub par. if a game is something new, or nice storyline, or whatever it takes to make a game great, wont get purchases unless they look alright too. they dont have to max the hardwares capability, but E.T. (on the atari) shouldnt be the benchmark :)

http://www.MyTabletLife.com Chris Garcia

Comes down to time and money.. Right now putting a lot of effort into a new OUYA game with high-quality graphics might not make financial sense. With only 100k consoles out in the wild right now.. Hopefully as more consoles are sold, and more success stories from developers are put out there, that will drive the quality of games available.

Angel Ham

You know what the Ouya is great for? Learning. This tiny thing is perfect for people trying to make a game. It’s MUCH cheaper than a mainstream console SDK and coding for it is easy as pie.

GatzLoc

Problem with a name like ouya is the only ad you can make for it is some slut saying ou ya..

GatzLoc

Problem with a name like ouya is the only ad you can make for it is some slut saying ou ya..

Techutante

Or you could build a functional raspberry pie, speaking of pie. I’m far too lazy for that, but as I understand it, you could piece one together on the cheap for about 50 bucks that will do the same thing, minus proprietary software.

Angel Ham

You know what the Ouya is great for? Learning. This tiny thing is perfect for people trying to make a game. It’s MUCH cheaper than a mainstream console SDK and coding for it is easy as pie.

Jamie MacDonald

Let’s be honest, a lot of people bought Ouya because it was cheap, and for quick, casual fun in the vein of a smartphone.

That type of group isn’t likely to spend much money on the games themselves, because the price relative to the console is too high, and that sort of crowd doesn’t need much more than some quick fun on a demo.

ronch

Ironically, articles like this will doom the Ouya even more.

douzo

There is a lot of competition out there in the games market, these open consoles are poorly timed as they must face PC, Wii U, existing PS3/Xbox 360 and impending PS4/Xbone…plus all the casual gamers already have their phones/tablets…

Perhaps a market will develop but I’ve never heard anyone even say the word “Ouya” – it’s buried under mainstream options.

Sunset Rider

58,000 consoles sold is quite underwhelming.

http://www.MyTabletLife.com Chris Garcia

That was the the Kickstarter units.. not sold.. Plus other pre-orders and retail sales.. its projected to be 100k ..

http://www.MyTabletLife.com Chris Garcia

Sorry.. but the TowerFall developer said sales were BEYOND their expectations. Their game cost $15 when most others are around $2.99.. So.. another negative tone to the somewhat positive info developers have released. Find the quotes from those developers.. they did not have a negative tone..

David Peter Fried

This article does not factor in advertising and the cost they avoided. These numbers are very impressive indeed. I have already loaded my games from my tablet to the Ouya, and I am very impressed. Just a few more updates ;)

David Peter Fried

“Only geeks” pretty much run every business

brad parks

i think about 7 years ago, 99% of people would’ve said “smartphones – challenging the console industry – whatever!”…. Ouya still has a chance…. not everyone wants to play hardware crushing games, and there’s a huge untapped market in the casual multiplayer space…. especially when indie game devs can somewhat easily target it as a secondary platform… which I’m going to do myself ;-)

Chase Utt

the OUYA was really awesome to me

Hairee Pothead

It’s Ouya VS Wii U for underpowered last gen-tech consoles with poor sales.. I can’t wait for the PC-Twins from Sony and Microsoft.

regeya

“Ouya game sales figures released: It doesn’t look good for Android console gaming”

I hear there are some smartphones that don’t sell well: It doesn’t look good for smartphones.

Sam Frankelli

People are still on about smartphone games? have these people even played an Ouya? Its for Indie games for fucks sake. I haven’t even seen a smartphone game on there yet. Everyday I have to delete old games to make room for great new ones, that seem to pop up by the hour, and whats worse the games I delete I do not want gone. Which brings up the bad point of the Ouya not having enough storage because the library is stellar enough to keep me busy for hours on end. I, like many, dont want or care for these huge AAA boring titles with more cutscenes than action booooring… been there done that. sell me something new, my 360 gathers layers of dust. what’s that, another FPS?? pfft please..smh

The trolls and fanboys are still gonna hate on what they don’t know. Bottom line yeah the numbers are low in sales but in no way is the Ouya a failure. Part of the problem is getting people to even know what an Ouya is. Not a single person I know has ever heard about it unfortunately.

jon aldridge

My question in all these bad reviews is this… Why can’t the top of the line systems get network streaming to work? Everyone is expecting the ouya to play games better (at $100) where is the hate for the playstation and Xbox laughable attempts as media hubs. They have the capability.

swordcrossrocket

No one is going to get excited over a six month exclusive of an indie game for a console that currently has the install base of the Atari Jaguar. I think Ouya is finding out that when you market to hackers, pirates, and cheapskates, you find out that they tend to not actually buy games. Probably their best hope would be to sell to Amazon or something and transition to work with an existing app ecosystem.

BamaGoatt

Really you realize that game probably cost him $99 to make that’s over a 20k profit lol. Granted compared to big budget productions that looks small but for a $99 budget that is damn impressive. I just got my ouya today planning some games my plan is to release a limited number of the games for free as a massive game testing. Based on the feedback I will set a price point, all of those in the beta will get to keep the game for free as a thank you for helping test the game. I also plan to have a free demo for all of my games. I see this as a way to create capital to support this cool system and expand to other platforms.

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